You have your own permission.

Sometimes we get drawn into empty pursuits because we make false assumptions. We steer our standards to an objective that doesn’t provide the payoff we thought it would.

This is exactly what happens when you seek the approval of others. Success in that pursuit isn’t success at all. It’s a personal prison. With a little self-awareness you can quickly course-correct.

If you gain the approval of others, does it make you a better person? If you don’t have the approval of others, are you at all prevented from being the best you?

You are who you choose to be, with or without the approval of anyone else.

Discipline is the shortcut. Do the work.